why esports matters – and what developers should know | arne peters

WHY ESPORTS MATTERSAND WHAT DEVELOPERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF

ArArne Peters – Casual Connect Berlin 2017

DO YOU FEEL THE HYPE?

Arne Peters – Casual Connect Berlin 2017

A MULTIBILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS IN THE MAKING

If esports would generate as much revenues per fan as the NBA, it would be a $2.5Bn business today, or 5 times what it is now

90MILLION

131MILLION

180MILLION114

MILLION

125MILLION

165MILLION

OCCASIONAL VIEWERSENTHUSIASTS

2014 2016 20192015

115MILLION

111MILLION

YoY+13.3%

YoY+11.2%

CAGR2014-2019

+11.2%

POWERED BY

© Newzoo | 2016 Global Esports Market Report + Esports Data Report Oct. 2016

ESPORTS ON THE RISE


ESPN Magazine – The esports Issue June 2015

“For the first time in generations we’re witnessing the birth of a new sport…”

“…Gaming is what every traditional sports league is desperate to become: young, global, digital and increasingly diverse.”

ESL: WE CREATE ESPORTS


Sponsors & PartnershipsESL has partnership relations >10 years

Game Developers & PublishersESL has a proven track record with the leading game studios and publishers

DistributionESL own the distribution rights and production to the events

Leagues & Tournaments

ESL host the biggest events all around the world

Teams & Players relationship

ESL has long-lasting relationship with the

teams and players

Associations (i.e. WESA)ESL together with the top

CSGO teams founded WESA to unite teams with the

tournaments and leagues

Operations

WHY CARE?

• Esports means user engagement and rentention in the first place

• Provides opportunities for content activation

• Foundation for a long lifecycle of your game


THE NEXT BIG ESPORTS GAME?

• DON‘T develop for esports (without understanding the road ahead)

• Rather develop a competitive multiplayer game, with esports in mind

• Have a viable business model for your game in place

• Be prepared for esports features, but implement over time

• Grow your audience – players first, spectators second

• Be patient, but be ready when things take off

• Keep improving

• Do something different!


COMPETITIVE GAMES

• Gameplay focus is synchronous PVP

• Online

• Gameplay mechanics with clear skill curve (“easy to

learn, hard to master”)

• Very often free-to-play

• Attractive to watch

• Player motivation driven by aspiration (achievement,

winning, skill improvement)


CORE FEATURES

MATCHMAKING• Matching players from a queue• Skill-based at some point• Some form of incentive system

CUSTOM LOBBIES• Make it possible for people to select all match participants• Allow settings to be made, and have result screens with player names

ANTI-CHEAT• Especially PC games need to be tamper-proof• Store as much telemetric data as possible on the server side


EVOLUTION INTO ESPORTSRETAIN EARLY ADOPTERS

Family & Friends, AlphaBUILD TO 24/7 ACTIVITY

Alpha to Closed BetaGROW A SPORT

Open Beta to Release

• Smart choices in game design, feature selection and competitive mode

• Scale activity offering over time

• Constant, active communication with players

• Focus on player liquidity in matchmaking

• Incentivize competitive play

• Love your influencers

• Lay groundwork for competitive structure

• Increase content frequency

• Add more gameplay options as player base grows


ESPORTS IS ENTERTAINMENT!

Arne Peters

Vice President, Strategic Relations

[email protected]

why esports matters – and what developers should know | arne peters

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